Chapter 12

Hours later, Rey and Kairen stumbled downstairs into the now busy and noisy tavern, many patrons whistling and cheering loudly for the duo, answering the silent question of if anyone heard them. The two scanned the tavern until they spotted Pamela looking up at the two with a deep blush on her face before suddenly becoming very interested by a random pea on her plate.

Letting out a sigh, they walked over to Pamela while Rey held Kairen by her slim waist and she clung to his arm for support. She still wasn't able to walk straight, and thanks to Rey riping her panties to shreds. And with her wearing a dress, him carrying her wasn't an option either. Still, she didn't regret a second of her time with Rey and would remember this day for the rest of her life.

As they got closer to Pamela, Rey suddenly stopped in his tracks and Pamela also looked at the two with surprise. He wasn't sure how or why, but he could now sense and partially see a powerful aura radiating off of Pamela that was almost suffocating to be near. Rey gave a quick glance to Kairen, and noticed an aura around her as well, but her's was far more subdued and strangely seemed to be gravitating towards him.

Rey didn't have the first clue as to what was happening until Pamela gave him an answer that shocked all three of them.

"You both managed to breakthrough?! How?! Ren, you've been stuck at Mid-Novice for years, how did you manage to breakthrough in less than a day? Were you two secretly training up there without me?! Please, let me join!" Pamela asked as she fired off a series of questions.

Rey looked Pamela over while softly nodding his head. Though most of her form was covered by thick, bulky armor, Rey's gut told him she was hiding a bombshell of a body under there.

"Hmm, since it's you, I don't mind training with you. I'm sure we could definitely manage to breakthrough together." Rey said with a flirty smile and a suggestive tone, as even the extremely oblivious Pamela was blushing heavily as she caught his meaning.

Feeling a sharp elbow to his side, Rey looked down to see Kairen adorably frowning at him, causing him to let out a hearty laugh before kissing the top of her head and making her smile again. Meanwhile, Pamela still had steam coming from her head and a deep blush on her face as she bashfully looked at Rey.

Pamela had always thought about nothing besides being a strong warrior like her father and everyone else in her family. Even as a small child, she would never attend her lady-in-waiting classes like all other noble daughters do. No, she would be found on the training ground using a Craftsman's hammer as her weapon and a metal pot as a helmet.

It was cute and adorable to watch when she was a child, but that cute little girl soon grew up to become one of the fiercest fighters in the kingdom and even go on to become the youngest Captain of the Royal Guard in the history of the kingdom.

Needless to say, she never had time for relationships and most guys were either too intimidated by her prowess, family status, or put off by her bulky armor that she almost never took off. So, on top of her being completely oblivious to most flirting, to her, this was her first time being flirted with, and so brazenly as well. She was already mildly attracted to Rey when she first saw him outside of the Clinic, but thanks to him being a Commoner and her only friend saying that she was catching feelings for him, she didn't want to get too close and mess things up.

Now, even though he had just broken through to Low-Novice, despite it being so small, his aura was so incredibly dense and vibrant, it was nearly intoxicating, as just that small amount of aura was so domineering. Also, his muscles seemed more defined than before and even his coat gained a shiny, healthy luster to it. Between his aura and the natural charm and confidence he exuded, even this oblivious warrior was starting to take an interest in this man.

Furrowing his brows, Rey looked outside only for his blood to run cold. It was completely dark outside, meaning he had missed his training with Harris.

"Fuck, my mentor is going to literally kick my ass for missing training! I have to go, I'll see you ladies next time!" Rey said before he kissed Kairen, winked at Pamela, then dashed out of the tavern with a speed that made the patrons of the place turn their heads in surprise.

Feeling Rey's aura disappear into the distance, Pamela let out a sigh before looking over to see Kairen with a sad smile on her face. Knowing that her best friend was sad, Pamela put her own feelings to the side and decided to cheer her up with some ale while they talked all about Rey. Kairen began telling Pamela all of the juicy details about her time with Rey, making Pamela's face turn redder than a cherry. Her legs began rubbing together as she began wondering if she'd get to have her own moment with the flirty lion as well.

Back to Rey, he was now running at full speed and surprised by how unbelievably fast he was moving. With his new speed, he was already halfway to the farm, and was sure that he would be able to make it back before Rory finished making dinner.

'Congratulations, Young One. You manage to stumble onto the secret method of Soul-Bonding and even managed to breakthrough to the Novice stage as well. Truly impressive.' Jinbe said abruptly, nearly making Rey stumble in panic. He still wasn't used to hearing an old man's voice in his head.

'Thanks, but what the hell is this Soul-Bonding you're talking about? Is that the reason I broke through and feel stronger?' Rey asked, eager to know about this new cultivation method. If he could farm levels with this method, he'd be unstoppable!

'It is. Soul-Bonding is when two lovers engage in passionate intercourse and love energy gets formed between them as it strengthens their bodies and boosts their cultivation.' Jinbe said as though he was educating a classroom.

'You couldn't have made that sound any less sexy... But, hell yeah! So all I have to do is start sleeping with a bunch of beauties and get stronger?! I don't know when this turned into an H, but I'm all for it!' Rey said excitedly as he fantasized about getting stronger in the best way possible.

'Unfortunately, it's not that simple or easy. No one fully understands the mysterious method, but what we do know is that it can only be performed by two lovers who are deeply connected with each other. And even then, it only occurs rarely, as there is no exact science to it I'm afraid.' Jinbe said in an apologetic tone.

Hearing this, Rey simply sighed as he shook his head. He knew such a perfect method was too good to be true, so he didn't feel bitter about it. Rey was just happy that it managed to work for him this time and let him breakthrough to Novice stage. He could finally start trying to get more powerful by learning tons of new skills. Though he was excited to check the scroll for his next level of Inheritance, he first had to deal with Harris and Rory. Though he liked the two of them, the thought of getting his own place started swirling in his mind. First, he had to repay both of them for their extreme kindness.

As he was running, Rey's senses suddenly went haywire, prompting him to leap backwards, the new energy in his body causing him to jump further than he expected. At the place where he would've been if he kept running, which now had a small crater, was something Rey never expected to see. Turning to face him, holding a huge club, was probably one of the beefiest skeletons he had ever even heard of, no matter how many games he played or movies he's seen.

The skeleton was not of a human like they typically were, and if Rey had to guess, it was probably the skeleton of some large Orc or some other burly race he had yet to met. All of its bones were incredibly thick and had a slight brown hue to them, which likely came from being buried in the dirt. It's skull had a row of sharp, jagged teeth with elongated tusks, and the sockets where it's eyes should be had unsettling red flames instead.

The aura radiating from the skeleton gave Rey the same impression that Kairen's did, which meant that this buff skeleton was likely within the Novice stage as well, which means that they should be somewhat on a level playing field.

'Be careful, Young One. This Orc's skeleton has become tainted by a Necromancer and forced to walk the earth again. Skeletons are known for for being slow, clumsy, and not too bright, but this one is fast, accurate, and was able to detect where you would land if you hadn't reacted fast enough. I think it's a safe bet to assume that there's a Necromancer nearby directly controlling this Skeleton. Be on your guard.' Jinbe said with a rare seriousness to his voice.

Hearing Jinbe's theory about the Necromancer being nearby controlling it to fight him unsettled Rey for many reasons. First, it was completely pitch black in this section of the road between Central and South Harrend. Luckily for Rey, thanks to his genetics, he had no trouble seeing in the dark, but even he saw no one else around, which meant that either this person had some scary range of control, or was deeply hidden among all of the thick foliage of the forest. With the Orc Skeleton chasing him too, finding them was close to impossible.

Next, everyone keeps telling Rey how safe the area is supposed to be, and Harris was talking like the world was ending just from him running into 4 bandits. There was no way this Necromancer is supposed to be here. Also, it was the middle of the night and he was the only one traveling on the road. He didn't know why, especially since he just came to this world a few days ago, but it was clear to Rey that this Necromancer was after him for some reason.

While he was deep in his thoughts, the Skeleton bellowed a horrifying roar that sounded eerily similar to the one that Rey and Rory heard the previous night, only it sounded far more terrifying up close. After the roar, the Skeleton made it's move as it suddenly dashed at Rey, catching him off guard. Appearing in front of Rey within a few blinks, the Skeleton swung it's massive club at Rey, while Rey just barely managed to block it with his staff.

But, like with Karrick and his overwhelming Orc strength, Rey was sent flying by the Orc Skeleton. Rey's only solace was that the Skeleton knocked him in the direction of the road, which was bare of trees around it. Unfortunately, Rey was coughing up too much blood to notice his feline reflexes and the fact that he landed on his feet. Knowing that they were on the same power stage and still getting knocked around by a damn Skeleton, who was known for being a weak mob monster, awakened a deep rage that was bubbling inside of him.

Rey's green eyes began glowing with a radiance that matched the red flames of the Skeleton's skull in the nighttime, only Rey's eyes were far more intense, terrifying the Necromancer who was hidden within a hollowed out tree nearby just as he had planned.

When the Necromancer was first assigned this job, he assumed it would be a cakewalk as not only was the target not supposed to have a shred of Cultivation, but they were supposed to be left in a state that they were barely able to stay alive, making the job easy enough for even a child to do. His employ had even given him this powerful new Orc Skeleton to control as opposed to the weak Goblin Skeleton he had before. But even then, things went completely off the rails.

First, the target wasn't on the alter where they were supposed to be. Then, a super Cultivator, Gavin Tran appeared there suddenly, but luckily he left quickly. Then he managed to track the target to this out of nowhere village, but the target ended up being surrounded by a couple of top-level Cultivators, making him sweat from nervousness.

After that, a series of small things occurred to lead to this heaven-sent opportunity only to find that through all of the chaos, the target managed to go from having absolutely no Cultivation to becoming the same stage as him. And the target had this insanely dense aura that should be impossible.

'Should I just cut my losses and head home? No, I have to do this! If I fail, those bastards will hurt, Naz.' the Necromancer resolved to himself as he thought of his sickly little sister who was unknowingly being held as collateral.

Little did the Necromancer know, whenever Rey gets involved, fate, which is supposed to be set in stone, has a way of being completely unpredictable.